This February Nickelodeon Preschool will introduce millions of young viewers to Chinese culture and language on Nick Jr.'s groundbreaking new animated series NI HAO, KAI-LAN. The original 20x30 series will teach 2- to 5-year-olds Mandarin words and phrases for the first time on television. The premiere episode, titled "Dragon Boat Festival," will debut on Nick Jr. on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 11:00 am ET/PT, the first day of the Chinese New Year (Year of the Rat). Additionally, Nick Jr. will roll out six new NI HAO, KAI-LAN episodes weekdays from Friday, Feb. 8 to Friday, Feb. 15 at 11:00 am ET/PT, after which the series will air regularly at the same time.
NI HAO, KAI-LAN is Nick Jr.'s first play-along, think-along series to feature an intergenerational family. Through the eyes of a five-year-old Chinese-American girl, the series explores the colorful aspects of her upbringing and background, her relationships with her family and friends and the world around her. NI HAO, KAI-LAN will also help preschoolers to identify their emotions and learn coping mechanisms to deal with their feelings.
"BLUE'S CLUES, DORA THE EXPLORER and GO, DIEGO GO! have clearly demonstrated how much kids love to interact with beloved characters, as well as embrace new languages and cultures," said Brown Johnson, Exec VP, Exec Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool.
On Monday, Jan. 28, the series will begin sneak peeks across the following Nickelodeon preschool platforms:
* Video On Demand will feature the full premiere episode "Dragon Boat Festival," in addition to a music video and other NI HAO KAI-LAN clips, on Comcast, Charter, Cablevision, Verizon FiOS and Cox.
* Nick Jr. will show "Dragon Boat Festival" on iTunes(R) Music Store (www.itunes.com).
* Nick Jr. Video, Nick Jr.'s broadband video service available on Nickjr.com, will stream "Dragon Boat Festival," a music video and other clips.
* Various wireless carriers will also show clips from "Dragon Boat Festival," in addition to a music video and other clips.
NI HAO, KAI-LAN stars Kai-lan Chow, a playful, adventurous bilingual preschooler with a big heart, who speaks both English and Mandarin. Kai-lan's world is infused with Chinese culture, from the dumplings she eats and the lanterns that adorn her house, to the huge Chinese New Year celebration she has with her family and friends. The series centers on Kai-lan and her relationships with her grandfather Yeye and her animal friends. Yeye plays a major role in her life as he gently and playfully guides her to her own discoveries. Kai-lan is a natural leader who is thoughtful and caring and has a gift for helping her friends when they really need her. Her best friends are Rintoo, a rambunctious five-year-old tiger who loves to play; Tolee, a five-year-old koala who always puts his friends first; Hoho, a three-year-old monkey full of boundless energy; and Lulu, a happy six-year-old pink rhino.
The series focuses on issues common to preschoolers such as taking turns, disappointment and jealousy, and supports an emotional intelligence curriculum highlighting cause-and-effect thinking in the social/emotional world. NI HAO, KAI-LAN provides simple coping strategies, set to song, that teach valuable lessons.
Beginning Friday, Jan. 11, Nick Jr.'s website (www.nickjr.com) will feature four, brand-new online games to complement the launch of NI HAO, KAI-LAN. In the "Ni Hao, Kai-lan Paper Lanterns" game, users can design their own paper lanterns to print, and in "Rintoo's Dragon Boat Rowing Race," users play as Rintoo and row in rhythm on their dragon boat in order to reach the finish line before the other challengers. In "Tolee's Bamboo Bounce," users play as Tolee and travel on the bamboos to catch panda items without falling, and in "Kai-lan's Puddle Hop," users play as Kai-lan and jump in puddles to gain points. Additionally, NickJr.com will feature NI HAO, KAI-LAN-themed printables, crafts and more.
On the premiere episode "Dragon Boat Festival," Kai-lan and her friends are excited to race dragon boats on the river. Kai-lan rows a boat with her best friend, Rintoo the tiger, and she cannot wait to meet a real dragon at the end of the races. But when they lose the first race, Rintoo gets so mad that he whacks their boat and it lands on top of a pagoda. It's up to Kai-lan and the viewers at home to figure out how to help Rintoo calm down so they can finish the race and meet the friendly dragon.
NI HAO, KAI-LAN is created by Karen Chau and Exec Produced by Mary Harrington. Animation production is being done in conjunction with Wang Films and the Wang Studio in Greater China.
